Once upon a time, I spent hours creating scrapbooks. I had more stickers, paper choices and paper punch tools than one person probably needs. I enjoyed the creative process of telling our life story through photos.

When our daughter was born seven years ago, scrapbooking was this insurmountable mountain to tackle. I hadn’t set time aside for me to keep up with my scrapbooking hobby. I was years behind where I wanted to be with our books. It became clear that while I liked the idea of lovely scrapbooks to flip through, it wasn’t a priority for me. I quit. I gave away most of my supplies and turned to digital photo books.

Our oldest sons are 14 and 12. We were still using film cameras when they were born. We bought a digital camera when our second son was nine months old. The switch to digital changed the way I felt about scrapbooking. With film, I would scrapbook the second set of prints ordered every time film was processed. I had to do something with those photos and giving them a lovely, detailed book was the route I chose. With digital, I added an extra step of sorting through hundreds of photos every month to print. If photos are already on my computer and there are companies I can use to make scrapbooks, it seems easier for me to skip printing altogether.

I’ve used several different companies to make digital scrapbooks. I utilize Shutterfly.com for most of my memory-making. I enjoy the ease of digital scrapbooking. There are no supplies to set up or table space to commandeer like traditional scrapbooking. If I have my computer and WiFi, I’m good to go. I’d like to say it’s faster for me to create digital scrapbooks, but it seems to take forever. I limit myself to art books for the kids, an annual family book, major vacation books and Disney autograph books. I’ve also started making a yearly collage to hang in the house which is the simplest of all scrapbooking projects. My tastes have changed as I’ve aged. I prefer more photos in my scrapbooks and less words and adornments.

I joined Instagram because of scrapbooking and honestly, it’s my happy social media platform. There’s far less drama and negativity on my Instagram feed compared to my Facebook account. I appreciate photography and enjoy scrolling through the photos on my Instagram feed. My primary reason for joining Instagram was to have a more daily account of life. I don’t post daily. My presence on Instagram varies. I post more in the summer when we’re traveling to give reminders of our adventures. I use Chatbooks, a company that makes digital photo books, to make small 6×6-inch printed books of my posts from Instagram. I choose to print my Chatbooks new edition every 60 posts. The books are $8 each. I like the minimalist look of white pages and black text. The photos are the most important element and they draw all the attention. Most of the time, my thought process behind what I post on Instagram isn’t what I think people will look or read, but what I want to remember. I’ll often find my kids flipping through our Chatbooks and retelling the stories behind the photos.

I’d love to hear about any other digital resources people use for their memory saving and sharing. Any suggestions for me to try?

Disclaimer: I don’t receive any form of payment from the companies listed in this post.

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Welcome

Once upon a time, I earned a journalism degree and had a short career working for a newspaper. Then I married and decided my career would be raising our children. That’s where the story about me really begins...